FCC order strengthens pretexting regulations News
FCC order strengthens pretexting regulations

[JURIST] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) [official website] adopted new privacy rules [FCC press release, PDF; order, PDF] for telephone and wireless companies on Tuesday aimed at strengthening safeguards against pretexting [JURIST news archive], the disclosure of personal telephone records to unauthorized individuals. The new rules include carrier authentication requirements, additional notice requirements, and annual certification requirements. Commenting on the new rules, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin [official profile] said in a prepared statement [text, PDF] that the regulations significantly strengthen existing safeguards by requiring express consent before a carrier can give a customer’s phone records to other parties for marketing purposes.

In January, President Bush signed into law [JURIST report] new federal legislation to protect telephone consumers from pretexting. The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 [text, PDF] was approved [JURIST report] by the US Senate in December in response to the Hewlett-Packard corporate spying scandal [JURIST news archive] that broke last summer. CNET News has more.